Project 52: Week 1

January 5, 2014 By in Photography Tags: , , 6 Comments

In 2012 I completed the 52 Week Project – taking a photo a week and sharing it on the blog. Last year I decided not to do it again and, in retrospect, I regret that. 2013 was so busy for us, and my poor blog was often neglected for weeks at a time. It would have been nice to keep it ticking over with some simple photo posts. It would also have been nice to share some of our adventures in picture form, rather than always feeling the need to write a long post about them.

For those reasons, I’ve decided I’m going to try and complete Project 52 again in 2014. In addition to the basic rule of taking and sharing at least one photo each week, I’ve given myself two additional challenges.

Firstly, I want to start using my DSLR more, instead of always snapping away on my iPhone. I love the convenience of phone pics – I almost always have it with me, and I can upload photos straight to my blog or Facebook without having to transfer them onto my laptop first. But I have dedicated macro and portrait lenses for my lovely Nikon, and I am determined to make better use of them both this year. Continue reading →

Cheerio 2013!

December 31, 2013 By in Blogging Tags: , , , , 6 Comments

That was quite a year, wasn’t it?

DorkyDad and I had a lovely time out at the Taste of Tasmania festival last night, and we were reflecting on what big changes there have been in our lives over the last twelve months. I thought I’d spend the last afternoon of 2013 pulling together a short roundup of posts and images from the blog. I hope you enjoy them.

Thanks so much for reading DorkyMum over the last twelve months. Every comment, every page view and every shared post still fills me with surprise and delight. I may not have the most readers in the parent blogosphere, but I definitely have the best ones…

Much love to you and your families – I hope 2014 is full of laughter, love and happiness.

Ruth x

Edinburgh in the snow

January was about writing my shovel list (and indeed lots of other lists), considering my employment options, and attending the launch of the IF campaign. Continue reading →

My Word for 2014

December 22, 2013 By in Blogging Tags: , , , , , , , 45 Comments

Compass street art

Since my dear friend Emily – The Startup Wife – introduced me to the practice a couple of years ago, I’ve taken a morning or an evening every December to complete Susannah Conway’s Unravelling the Year workbook.

It’s a very worthwhile activity. Susannah challenges you, in the gentlest way possible, to look at the year that has just passed and reflect on what went well, what could have gone better, and what you’ve learned about yourself and others along the way.

You then take time to think about the year ahead and what your dreams, hopes and ambitions are, as well as noting any obstacles you expect to face and considering how you might overcome them. To tie all that together, you choose one word to keep in mind and inform your actions throughout the year – an overarching theme for everything that follows.

Continue reading →

Festive Reflections

December 20, 2013 By in Family, Tasmania Tags: , , , 29 Comments

Fresh garden peas

Christmas, like pretty much everything else, feels a lot mellower over here. Perhaps it’s because it falls mid-summer rather than mid-winter, so we’re all busy enjoying ourselves outdoors rather than clinging desperately onto the tiny glimmer of warmth and sparkle that tinsel and fairy lights can provide in the depths of a dark British winter.

Whatever the reason, this year feels like we are building a Christmas that fits our life, rather building our life around Christmas. It feels like it might be fun. Maybe even relaxing…

I really hope so. Recently I think we’ve all been feeling like our brains are being stretched in a few too many different directions at once. Continue reading →